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New Testament Dedication takes place in DR Congo

Ken attended the Dedication of the Taabua New Testament on November 30th, 2008 in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Work began in this project in 1996. In 2007 we helped the Taabua team complete the typesetting and later that year 10,000 copies were printed in South Korea and shipped to Tanzania by boat. Copies had to be transported by bicycle into the Congo.

It was a long road but finally the launch of this New Testament began.

We hope to post some pictures from that trip here soon!

Ken and Kapasa help load the New Testaments

How much do they cost?

The New Testaments are sold for around $4.00 but cost much more than that to actually produce. If you consider the average income of people in villages, even this subsidized price can be compared to someone in the United States paying to $400.00 or $500.00 for just a New Testament.

Although people greatly hunger for the scriptures, in many rural areas they can’t even afford these subsidized prices, so they will barter with things they may have. One man traveled over 50 miles with chickens so that he could buy Bibles. Another missionary trying to sell Bibles offered to trade them with the pygmies for the wild honey that they gathered.

When we lived in the Congo people couldn’t afford the Bibles so we offered them in exchange for work. Soon our doorstep was filled with dozens of people wanting to work for a Bible. The “Bible Work Program” became so big that we had to ask our village pastor to help. He gladly agreed and assigned each person jobs such as putting new grass roofs on the houses, digging rocks for the foundation of new buildings or working in a garden.

What a joy it was, after several days, or even a week, of hard work to see the excitement of those who were receiving their very own Bible. We prayed with each person who worked so hard, asking God to bless their understanding of His Word.

It’s a lot of prayer and work to go from a rough draft to a finished copy

Why not just give them the Bibles?

Experience has shown that when people are given Bibles for free they do not value them as much. Moreover, giving them away for free hurts others who are trying to make a living by selling Bibles or other books.

Do you value God’s Word? Would you spend a week of work or pay $500 for a copy of it? Those who have never had God’s Word in their language would.